Traqmate: Sophisticated Data Acquisition

This video of a Lotus 11 at VIR equipped with a Traqmate data acquisition unit is fascinating. The Traqmate system relies on a couple of core modules to provide fairly sophisticated data for your lapping. The heart of the system is a high-accuracy GPS receiver that records your vehicle’s position 4 times per second. Coupled with an accelerometer to measure speed and G-forces, the system paints a picture of your performance throughout the race. Back at your computer, mate the data to the Traqview analysis application to visualize this data overlaid on a map of the track, or when attached to a video camera, watch a video game-esque playback of your race. If your race group has several members using the system, it can marry the data from all of the participants to show the entire racing group’s performance; allowing you to swap notes with your friends on the track. The system allows you to ‘see’ your race from a completely different perspective. Neat stuff.

They also offer a variety of accessories such as bullet cameras to get good camera positioning on the car, and a module to attach your tachometer to the system to record RPM over the course of the race (as seen in the playback video above). Fantastic stuff.